To be honest, I didn't know much about koji until recently.
Or hadn't paid much attention to it.
But now, I just can’t talk about Japanese food without mentioning Koji.
Koji is the wonder of all these fermented foods from Japan, such as miso, soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, amaze, variety of pickles etc.
And not to mention, sake~!
Yes, there are fermented foods around the world.
But its amazing varieties, and how they are deeply integrated in people's everyday life, make Japan the "world's biggest fermented food country".
Go to super markets, or department stores, local shopping streets.
You are very likely to see some pickle shops, where they sell dozens of different types of pickled vegetables.
You may have heard or tried umeboshi plum, that infamous salty sour red pickle.
And on the basement floor of luxury department stores, you will see a beautiful display of variety of umeboshi plums.
Natto, that sticky fermented soy bean, is still a common breakfast menu, both at home or business hotel morning buffet. (natto doesn't use koji, though. Just an example of fermented food culture in Japan)
And your day wouldn't complete a cup of miso soup, or some soy sauce seasoned dishes.
But there is one thing, without which Japan's fermented food culture wouldn't have existed or flourished to this level.
And that's KOJI.
Now what's koji?
Simply put, koji is steamed grain (oftentimes rice), on which a type of special mold is grown.
And this koji is full of digestive enzymes, so it basically helps breakdown food. (starch into sugar, protein into amino acids, for instance), and also helps ferment foods.
Take miso, for example.
The ingredients are quite simple : soy bean (cooked), salt, and koji.
And this koji helps ferment cooked soy bean into miso.
And in my recent trip to Japan, I was so fortunate to visit two koji makers...
(the photo below is koji flower)
Or hadn't paid much attention to it.
But now, I just can’t talk about Japanese food without mentioning Koji.
Koji is the wonder of all these fermented foods from Japan, such as miso, soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, amaze, variety of pickles etc.
And not to mention, sake~!
Yes, there are fermented foods around the world.
But its amazing varieties, and how they are deeply integrated in people's everyday life, make Japan the "world's biggest fermented food country".
Go to super markets, or department stores, local shopping streets.
You are very likely to see some pickle shops, where they sell dozens of different types of pickled vegetables.
You may have heard or tried umeboshi plum, that infamous salty sour red pickle.
And on the basement floor of luxury department stores, you will see a beautiful display of variety of umeboshi plums.
Natto, that sticky fermented soy bean, is still a common breakfast menu, both at home or business hotel morning buffet. (natto doesn't use koji, though. Just an example of fermented food culture in Japan)
And your day wouldn't complete a cup of miso soup, or some soy sauce seasoned dishes.
But there is one thing, without which Japan's fermented food culture wouldn't have existed or flourished to this level.
And that's KOJI.
Now what's koji?
Simply put, koji is steamed grain (oftentimes rice), on which a type of special mold is grown.
And this koji is full of digestive enzymes, so it basically helps breakdown food. (starch into sugar, protein into amino acids, for instance), and also helps ferment foods.
Take miso, for example.
The ingredients are quite simple : soy bean (cooked), salt, and koji.
And this koji helps ferment cooked soy bean into miso.
And in my recent trip to Japan, I was so fortunate to visit two koji makers...
(the photo below is koji flower)